Modi Explains Why Andhra Didn't Get Special Status

"The government is bound by what was laid down by the 14th finance commission. That’s why a special package was made through which they get as much assistance as it would’ve under a special category status. Andhra Pradesh’s finance minister had accepted the package that the Centre had prepared in 2016." - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi Says Rafale Deal Was Completely Transparent

"I want to assure the countrymen that the Rafale deal was a deal between two countries. Not between two private businesses. It has been done with complete transparency between two governments. I request you save yourself from such childish allegations." - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi's Sweet Revenge

Modi takes another jibe at the opposition parties who moved the no-confidence vote against him.

"I pray to the lord that he give you so much strength that you bring another no-confidence motion against us in 2024." - Prime Minister Narendra Modi " Congress has misused the no-confidence motion to create instability in the country." - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi Lists Out His Government's Achievements

"In the last two years, 5 crore Indians have escaped dire poverty. More than 20 crore poor people have got insurance cover. In the coming days, they’ve been assured health insurance of Rs 5 lakh each. And yet they don’t trust us. We have been taking steps to double farm income. Yet, they don’t trust us. " - Prime Minister Narendra Modi "There was a time when we talked about digital lending. So many experts said our country is mostly illiterate, how will they adopt digital transactions? The people have answered them. Just the BHIM app sees Rs 41,000 crore worth of transactions every month. Yet, they (the opposition) don’t trust the people of our country. They’re ‘illiterate’ afterall. " - Prime Minister Narendra Modi "We have triggered a fight against black money. And it won’t stop. And I know the kind of people being troubled by it. We used technology and saved Rs 90,000 crore that used to go away from our treasury by illicit means." - Prime Minister Narendra Modi "The Opposition doesn’t have any confidence in itself. They don’t trust the Supreme Court, the RBI, the Election Commission and Central Statistics Office. That’s because they don’t trust themselves." - Prime Minister Narendra Modi "How can those who can’t even trust themselves, trust our government?" - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi Hails Rural Electrification

" Every other government before us could’ve electrified the 18,000 villages that we did. But no one did because it did not fit in their electoral math. " - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi Begins His Fiery Defence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now speaking in the much-awaited defence of his regime. A volley of criticism has been mounted against his government, over a range of issues throughout the day, which was capped by a surprise-inducing hug from Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

"I urge the house to defeat this motion and repose its confidence in the first single-party majority government in 30 years" - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

“This is not the government’s floor test,” Modi said. “This is the floor test of Congress and its allies.”

Modi took a jibe at Congress saying that if they want to test the loyalty of their own allies then they shouldn’t mask it with a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.

Had Hoped Modi Would Resolve Kashmir Crisis: Farooq Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah said that he was hoping that Modi would use his mandate to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. “I had hoped this government’s mandate would allow Modi to achieve what Atal Bihari Vajpayee couldn’t.”

Economic Outlook Is Rosy Only Because Of Change In Methodology: TMC's Trivedi

TMC's Dinesh Trivedi said that India's economic growth projections are rosy because the government changed its methodology. He said while the GDP forecast is over 7 percent, in reality it is under 5 percent.

Here are the highlights of his speech:

Rupee is at record lows, it should be taken very seriously.

Government isn't disclosing full details about the Ujjwala scheme.

Government has no interest in economic policies; the post of chief statistician has been vacant for 6 months.

Demographic dividend can turn into demographic disaster, as new jobs are not being created.

Who Wins The Perception Battle?

Andhra CM Naidu Not Impressed By BJP's Defence

It would have been good on Rajnath Singh’s part if he had told what the Centre has done to Andhra Pradesh in the last 4 years instead of saying I am a good friend: AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu on Home Minister Rajnath Singh's comment on him in Lok Sabha (file pic) pic.twitter.com/4OOAn68yAf

French Government Responds To Rahul Gandhi's Claims

The government of France has said that under the 2008 security agreement, the Rafale deal is sensitive classified information, according to ANI.

"We have noted the statement of Mr Rahul Gandhi before the Indian Parliament. France and India concluded in 2008 a Security agreement, which legally binds the two States to protect the classified information provided by the partner that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France. These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons. As the President of the French Republic indicated publicly in an interview given to India Today on 9th March 2018, In India and in France, when a deal is very sensitive, we can’t reveal all details." - Government of France Statement

However, Gandhi has said that he stands by his words.

Let them deny it if they want. He(French President) said that before me.I was there, Anand Sharma and Dr.Manmohan Singh were also there: Rahul Gandhi on France statement on Rafale deal #NoConfidenceMotionpic.twitter.com/c3FKz40lnj

Congress' Kharge Takes The Floor

Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said that the BJP has to appreciate the fact that Congress has tried to save democracy in the country.

"If we walked down the path that BJP is walking down, then democracy would’ve ended." - Mallikarjun Kharge, MP, Congress

He said that he was expecting the government to list out its achievements over the past four odd years. Instead, we ended up getting a history lesson from Rajnath Singh, Kharge said.

He added that the previous UPA government had promised central assistance and a special status to Andhra Pradesh. And that's the reason why Congress is standing with the TDP on the no-confidence motion. “It is for the people of Andhra Pradesh.”

The Congress Is To Blame For Andhra's Problems: Ram Vilas Paswan

Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the party that moved the no-confidence motion has done it only for the Andhra Pradesh matter. And that’s not new. Paswan said that the Congress has been in power for 55 years while the NDA government has only ruled for some 50 months. Hence the blame of Andhra Pradesh’s problems cannot be put on the current government.

He added that the Modi regime has seen a lot of beneficial pro-poor policies like affordable housing, building of toilets and improving sanitation. He also welcomed the no-confidence motion equating it with rains.

"A no-confidence motion is like rainfall. Because when it rains, the mud and dirt gets washed away while the metal starts to shine." - Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan

The BJP Is Being Deserted: NCP's Anwar

Tariq Anwar of the NCP said that the BJP's allies are deserting it because it failed to deliver on its campaign promise of 'sab ka saath, sab ka vikaas'. He noted that the Shiv Sena chose to not attend the debate because of this reason.

He also criticised the government on its stance in Kashmir, mob lynchings and rising inflation.

"If this is what a Ram Rajya is, I am afraid what a Ravan Rajya would be." - Tariq Anwar, MP, NCP

Andhra Pradesh Will Get All The Assistance It Needs

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government will provide all the help that Andhra Pradesh needs even without a special category status, the reason why the no-confidence motion was moved. “Andhra Pradesh is part of this country. Central Government understands its responsibility. Whatever maximum assistance is needed, we will do it whole heartedly,” Singh said.

He said that the government has released Rs 15,900 crore for Andhra Pradesh between 2015 and 2018.

Rajnath Says Need Strict Laws Against Lynching

Mob lynching incidents are very unfortunate and I asked state governments to make strictest of laws against it but I would like tell people who are raising these issues that the biggest case of mob lynching happened during 1984 Sikh genocide: Union Minister Rajnath Singh in LS pic.twitter.com/Gll6GEV0Xk

Speaker Says Rahul Gandhi Has A Lot To Learn

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that what Rahul Gandhi did was not right and against the decorum of the house. “Rahul Gandhi has a lot to learn. Someone like (Mallikarjun) Kharge would not do something like this.”

Ruckus On The Floor And Another Adjournment

The Speaker has adjourned the House again amid disruption by members. They will meet again at 4:30 PM.

The No-Confidence Motion Has No Basis: Rajnath Singh

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that those who moved the no-confidence motion are unable to understand the fact that the Indian people have placed their faith in the government. “Those who have moved the no-confidence motion should understand that this is the first time that a non-Congress party has had absolute majority in the Lok Sabha.”

"We never brought a no-confidence motion against Manmohan Singh’s government because we knew that the people had chosen them. In a healthy democracy, you have to respect the opposition." - Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Singh defended the Modi government saying that under him the Indian economy has become a bright spot for global investors. “During Congress' regime, the inflation used to be higher than GDP growth rate. Now those indicators have turned around.”

He added that by 2030 he expects India to be in the top three economies of the world.

Mulayam Singh Says Cracks Are Visible In BJP

Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav said that there are doubters of the Modi-government within the BJP itself. He added that the government has failed to deliver on much of its promises including job creation and multiplying farm income.

#NoConfidenceMotion | Farmers are worried, unemployed have no way out, in this government’s tenure, says Mulayam Singh Yadav.

BJP To Move Privilege Motion Against Rahul Gandhi

BJP leader and union minister of parliamentary affairs has confirmed that the BJP will move a privilege motion against Gandhi. “He has grown old but it is unfortunate that he has not grown up. It is unfortunate that the president of Congress is so ill-informed and immature,” Kumar told reporters.

Kumar had also protested about Gandhi breaking the rules and procedures of the House during his speech.

Smriti Irani Criticises Gandhi's 'Negative Rhetoric'

We all have witnessed the lies propagated by Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha today. He had absolutely no proof but only political negative rhetoric and that itself has cost him in every election that he has fought: Union Minister Smriti Irani #NoCofidenceMotionpic.twitter.com/NA3Q3Mxryr

Highlight Of The Day: Master Of Hugs Gets One Himself

Defence Minister Refutes Gandhi's Allegations

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a secrecy agreement was signed with France in 2008, when AK Antony was the defence minister, and the Rafale deal was also covered in the agreement.

Sitharaman was responding to Gandhi’s accusation that prices of aircraft under the Rafale deal were inflated unfairly and then not disclosed to the people.

Gandhi Hugs Modi, Says Will Unify Everyone Against Him

Rahul Gandhi closed his fiery speech by hugging and congratulating Narendra Modi on the Lok Sabha floor after giving his war cry that he will unify everyone to defeat the incumbent power in 2019.

Gandhi said that anger is bubbling not just among the citizens but also among some members of the BJP itself.

"All of the opposition and even some members of the BJP will unify to defeat Prime Minister Modi." - Rahul Gandhi, President, Congress

Gandhi resumed his speech saying that the minimum support price hike that was announced by the Modi government was another jumla. “The Modi government has given a Rs 10,000 crore benefit to farmers. At the same time, just the state of Karnataka has given Rs 34,000 crore to its farmers.”

He also criticised Modi for remaining quiet on the assault on dalits, tribals, minorities and women.

Watch the second half of Gandhi’s speech here

#NoConfidenceMotion | Indian National Congress' Rahul Gandhi speaks in the Lok Sabha. #BQLive Watch Part 1 of his speech here: https://goo.gl/nPjMAs Live Blog: https://goo.gl/z5GQgV

No-Confidence Debate Resumes After Halt

The Speaker has requested members to maintain the decorum of the Parliament and to not cite facts and figures that are unverified on the floor.

Rahul Gandhi then continues with his speech.

House Adjourned Till 1:45 PM

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had to adjourn the house till 1:45 PM after Parliamentary proceedings were disrupted by a huge uproar.

Rahul Gandhi’s vicious allegations about the Modi government favouring businessmen over the common people and of the Prime Minister “not being truthful” resulted in heated arguments across the members of BJP and the opposition parties.

Rahul Gandhi Takes PM Modi Head-On

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that the Modi government has afflicted the country using the political weapon called jumla (empty promises) strikes.

" The weapon is called the jumla strike and the symptoms are that there is first a great sense of happiness and excitement. Then there is a feeling of shock and after that there are eight hour-long speeches. There are many more victims in this country. These are the farmers, the youngsters, the Dalits, the tribals and the women of the country." - Rahul Gandhi, President, Congress

Gandhi said that instead of creating jobs, that would’ve come from small businesses, the government chose to enforce demonetisation which hurt them. “Those who were making money through their small businesses and shops, you’ve snatched away their money from their pockets. This is an unrefutable truth.”

"The PM doesn’t listen to small businesses. The powers that help Modi, the 10-15 big businessmen, he only works for them. There’s no place in his heart for the common people of India." - Rahul Gandhi, President, Congress

The Congress chief said that the government rejected to waive farm loans and yet chose to write-off corporate debt.

Gandhi also criticised the renegotiation of the Rafale deal with France and the rollout of the Goods and Services tax, which he said was something the Congress envisaged.

AIADMK Member Says Won't Support The Motion

BJP's Rakesh Singh Starts Rebuttal

BJP’s Rakesh Singh is now responding to the TDP’s no-confidence motion. But that didn’t happen before an uproar in the Lok Sabha. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanded that an offensive word used by a TDP member be expunged from the records. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that if there was indeed an offensive word used, it will be removed retrospectively.

Singh said the opposition has no compelling reason to bring in a no-confidence motion. “Congress gave India a tainted government, while the BJP has given India a clean and transparent government.”

He added that the government’s work to develop India is not over yet.

" In all of India’s history, if we are seeing transformation in the lives of people now it is only because of PM Modi’s regime." - Rakesh Singh, MP (Jabalpur), BJP

JDU Pledges Allegiance To Modi Government

TDP Raises Special Status Demand For Andhra Pradesh

TDP’s major concern is to get a special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Galla said that Modi had promised this during his campaigning in 2014. Now he wants the prime minister to deliver on his promise. “Mr Modi while campaigning in Andhra Pradesh had said 'Congress killed the mother and saved the child. Had I have been there, I would have saved the mother too'. People of AP have waited for four long years for him to save their mother.”

"If this is how you deal with Andhra Pradesh do you expect the people to vote for you?" - Jaydev Galla, MP (Guntur), TDP

Shiv Sena Keeps BJP Guessing

The Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul told ANI that the party will not attend the no-trust debate, in contrast to yesterday’s reports that it will support the BJP.

Meanwhile, PTI reported citing unnamed sources that the Maharashtra-based party will abstain from voting on the no-confidence motion.

TDP Leader Jaydev Galla Begins Proceedings

TDP leader Jayadev Galla began the no-trust debate thanking the opposition parties including the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and the others who extended their support to the motion.

“It’s not a war between TDS and BJP. It’s a war between majority and morality,” Galla said on the house of the Parliament. “It’s war between the authoritarian, Machiavellian attitude of the Modi regime and the rights of the state that make up the federal republic of India.”

BJD Walks Out; Opposition Asks For More Time

The Biju Janata Dal has chosen to walk out of the no-confidence debate. Meanwhile, the opposition is demanding that no-time limit be put on the debate.

PM Modi Calls For Disruption-Free Debate

Hours before the Lok Sabha is to take up the no-trust vote against his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for disruption-free and constructive debate in the House.

Today is an important day in our Parliamentary democracy. I am sure my fellow MP colleagues will rise to the occasion and ensure a constructive, comprehensive & disruption free debate. We owe this to the people & the makers of our Constitution. India will be watching us closely.

BJP Gets 3.5 Hours In The Debate, Congress Gets 38 Minutes

As the main mover of the no-confidence motion against the government, the Telugu Desam Party will initiate the debate on it in the Lok Sabha and it has been allocated 13 minutes by the Speaker.

Congress, the main opposition party, has been allocated 38 minutes to present its views on the motion. Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the leader of the party in the House, Mallikarjun Kharge, are likely to speak.

The Lok Sabha will, today, debate the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government. This is the first such vote in 15 years. Ironically, it was a National Democratic Alliance government, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that faced the no-trust vote the last time in 2003.

Who Moved The Motion?

It was moved by N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party, which pulled out of the NDA government over the special status for Andhra Pradesh. The motion needed the support of 50 Members of Parliament. For TDP’s 16 MPs, that came from the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.

What Will It Achieve?

The purpose of a trust vote is to challenge the government’s claim that it has the requisite majority in the Lok Sabha. In this case, the stability of the Modi government isn't in question as the BJP by itself has numbers beyond the half-way mark.

Then Why Seek A No-Trust Vote?

The key factor to watch is how the BJP’s allies vote. It has had a difficult relationship with its allies, with the TDP and the PDP breaking away. Several media reports claimed the BJP had managed to persuade the miffed Shiv Sena. But Arvind Sawant, a Shiv Sena MP, told BloombergQuint that it hasn’t been decided yet.